Relevance of functional imaging in dental implantology

Abstract

Background: Despite it is widely used in many medicine fields, the use of functional imaging to examine dental implants has not been reported in the literature. This work aimed to evaluate the relevance of functional medical imaging in oral implantology. Material and Methods: This single-center observational study was conducted for 6 months at the Toulouse University Hospital, France. All patients who underwent positron emission tomography with 18-fluorodeoxyglucose integrated with X-ray computed tomography (FDG PET/CT) and had dental implants were included. Metabolic activity of the peri-implant tissues was assessed qualitatively and quantitatively jointly by a nuclear physician and a dental surgeon. Results: In 31 patients (121 implants), peri-implant metabolic activity was normal. In 3 patients (4 implants), localized peri-implant hypermetabolism was observed. In all the patients presenting abnormal peri-implant activity, the implants with normal activity were clinicaly and radiogicaly normal, whereas those with hypermetabolism presented peri-implantitis. Conclusions: This study assess of the relevance of FDG PET/CT in oral implantology. It shows a link between peri-implant hypermetabolism and peri-implantitis. Therefore, FDG PET/CT could become a new tool for the assessment of peri-implant diseases.